ISIS executed a captured Jordanian pilot by burning him alive

Militant Islamist fighters during a military parade along the streets of Syria's northern Raqqa province in June. Reuters The Islamic State says it has executed Moaz al-Kasasbeh, a Jordanian pilot whom the group captured in Syria in December.

The group released a video in which Kasasbe is burned alive.

The Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, had been attempting to trade Kasasbeh for Sajida al-Rishawi, a would-be suicide bomber imprisoned in Jordan, since 2005.

Jordanian state TV confirmed Kasasbe's death and reported that he had been killed Jan. 3. This explains why ISIS was unable to produce proof the pilot was still alive while the sides were supposedly working toward a potential prisoner exchange — and also proves the jihadist group was negotiating in bad faith.

Public opinion in the kingdom is already split over Jordan's participation in the anti-ISIS coalition. As David Schenker of the Washington Institute for Near East policy wrote on Dec. 5, only 62% of Jordanians considered ISIS a terrorist group, while many question whether there was a real national interest in getting involved in the wars in Syria and Iraq.

Jordan had already halted airstrikes against the group after Kasasbe's capture, and this latest development could potentially jeopardize Jordanian involvement in the fight against the jihadist group. On the other hand, the brutal incident could also hurt ISIS' efforts to recruit in the country.

Not only is ISIS barbaric, it is a stupid organization as well. Burning al-Kasasba alive will destroy any foothold gained in Jordan. — Michael Koplow (@mkoplow) February 3, 2015

Kasasbe's death comes just days after ISIS released a video showing the beheading of Kenji Goto, a Japanese journalist. As The New York Times reported after Goto's death, ISIS now has as few as four international hostages left, down from a high of 23, and it failed to secure either a $200 million ransom or the release of prisoners held in Jordan — its stated objectives in its requests to ransom Kasasbe and Goto.

While Kasasbe's gruesome death keeps the group in the global spotlight and could galvanize opinion within an Arab member state of the anti-ISIS coalition, it could also be read as a sign that ISIS is increasingly impulsive and nonstrategic. The group has also experienced a series of recent battlefield setbacks, most notably the breaking of its siege on the border town of Kobane in northern Syria.

In an email to journalists, the National Security Council said it was "aware of the video purporting to show that Jordanian 1st Lieutenant Moaz al-Kasasbeh has been murdered by the terrorist group ISIL. The intelligence community is working to confirm its authenticity."